I, for one, have never complained about my manual gearbox. Heck, even my 1-2 upshift is fine AND I can slip it back into 1st before the car comes to a complete stop.

Then again, I'm used to the shifter in my old Miata, which also wound 1st gear pretty quickly.

And wouldn't switching from a 3.27 rear end to a 3.08 slow the car down off the line as well as lengthen the time spent in 1st?